Bed davenport



Jan. 2l, 1936.A w. E. wuNDERLlcH, 2,028,426

BED DgvENPoRT Filed Feb. ll2, 1934Y 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jam 21, 1936 w. E. wUNDERLlcH BED DAVENPORT lFiled Feb. 12, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 .llll lll Jan. 21, 1936. w. la. wuNDERLlcH A2,028,426

VBED DAVENPORT Filed Feb. 12, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheetl 3' l i l www mfp/m5 Patented Jnn. 21, 1936 UNITED'. s'r-.Li'riisr PATENT f OFFICE l 2,028,426 l l BED nAvENPoB'r william E. Wunderlich, Muncie, Ina., assigner to The Moore Company, Muncie, Ind., a corporation oi.' Indiana Application February 12,1934, serial No. 710,236

4 claims. (ci. 5 4 Y' It is the object of myinvention to produce an article of furniture which canvbe readily converted irom a davenport into a bed. More speciiias a seat-frame and the other of which acts as a back-frame, and Iconnect th back-frame to the base or fram of the davenpor Hby a set of links so that it can be swung from a vertical to a horlzontal position, the links beingso arranged that as the back is swung fromalvertical to a horlzontal position its lower end moves inwardly of, 'the base. Acting between the back-frame and the seat-frame I providefa strut which, when in operative position serves to maintain.,l the back-y frame andseatframe in normal angular relationship but which can be released to permit the Silvio frames to beswung into co-planarrelation` p. i The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention: Fig. 1 is a vertical section through 'the frame o1' .bed-davenport on the line f-I of Fig. 4 showing the seat'and back in end elevation, parts'of the structure being broken away to show the construction more clearly; Fig. 2 is a view simllarto Fig. 1 showing the parts of the structure in different positions; Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but on an enlarged scale, showing in detail the means for controlling the angular'relationship of the seat and back; Fig. 4 is a fragmental plan View of the structure in extended position; and Fig. '5"is'a`vertical section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

In the drawings, the frame or base' of the davenport'is shown as embodyingfront and rear longitudinal members and l2. These, in 'conjunction with arm-forming ends |3-and a bottom |4, form a hollow box-like ,structure adapted to contain bedding. At each end of the base, there extends across it relatively heavy cross-members |5 upon which the back and'seat of the davenportare mounted, through shaped brackets I6.

'I'he seat 'of the davenport is built upon a frame having front and rear. longitudinal members 20 and 2|, end members 22, and intermediate -cross members 23, the .latter of which serve as supports for open-wound upholstery springs 24. The back of the davenport is'built upon a generallysimilar the medium of L- e' frame having top and bottom longitudinal members 26 and 21, end members 28, and intermediate cross members 29 carrying upholstery springs 30. As is clear from Fig. 1, the two sections (seat and back) of `the davenport are covered with 5 suitable upholstering material.

The ends 2|' of the rear longitudinal member 2| of theseat frame are bent generally upwardly,

andthe inner ends 22 of the end members '22 are also bent generally upwardly in parallel but spaced relationship to the upwardly bent ends 2 y of4 the rear'longitudinal'member. The two ends 2l of the lower longitudinal member 21 of the back frame and the lower ends 28 of the end members 28 are bent forwardly to' interiit with the 15 bent ends of the rear longitudinal member and the two Aend members of the seat frame, these interfitting ends beinggpivlotally connected by a pivot pin or bolt 3|. t.

At each end of the seat frame there is pivotally mounted a link 32 provided with a slot 33 adapted to receive a pin or stud 34 mounted in the' back frame. Conveniently, the pin 34 andthe axis of pivotal connection between the link 32 and the seat frame are'located about inthe planes of the 25 bodies o f the4 respective frames. At its rear end, the slot 33 is relieved in its upper surface as at to provide a shoulder 36 engageable with the pin 34 lunder the inuence of the force of gravity acting upon the li I 32. As long as the Vlink 32 is 30 permitted to swing downwardly about its axis of pivotal connection between the seat frame-thel pin 34 will occupy 'the relieved portion 35 oi' the slot 33 so that relative angular movementof the seat frame and back frame about the axis of the 35 pins 3| by which they are pivotally interconnected is limited. That is, thetwo sides of the relief 35 act as abutments cooperating with a third abutment in the form of the pin 34 to hold theseat and back frames in denite angular relationship.

- The seatfframe and back-frame o1 the davenport\are connected to the base by means of a pair of links 40 and 4| located ateach end of the 'to spaced points on the yback-frame. Conveni. ently, the inner link 4| at each end of the davenport hasits free end connected Ito the back-frame by the pivot-pin 3|, while the free end of the link 50 .4 0 is connected to a forwardly projecting extenl sion 42 on the adjacent endmember 28 o1' the back-frame. y

The links 40 and 4| are of such a length and l.their respective points of pivotal attachment to 55 I longitudinal front and rear members and l2 of the daVenport-base.

Because of the presence of each pin 34 within the relief 35 in its associated link 32 and the consequent xed angular relationshipof the seat-frame and back-frame, the seat-frame moves from the horizontal position illustrated in Fig. 1 to the generally vertical position shown in full lines in Fig. 2 as the back-frame moves from the position shown in-Fig. 1 to the horizontal position shown Ain Fig. 2, the seat-frame being held in the full-line position of Fig. 2 by reason of the engagement of the shoulder 36 with the pin 34. It is therefore apparent that by lifting the free ends of the links 32 to disengage the shoulders 36 from the pins 34 the seat-frame can be lowered to the horizontal position illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, thus completing the transformation of the davenport into a bed. J

For the purpose of moving the links 32 to dis-- engage them from their associated pins 34, the

link-operating mechanism shown in` the drawings may be employed. This mechanism comprises a rod 45 which extends longitudinally of the seat frame near the rear edge thereof and which is so mounted that it can be rocked about its axis. At each end, the rod 45 is bent outwardly to provide a crank 46 the free outer end of which is disposed beneath the adjacent link 32. At an 'intermediate point, conveniently near its center,

the rod-45 is distorted to provide a U-shaped operating crank 41 (see Figs. 4 and 5) by means of which it can be rocked.

In the mechanism illustrated in the drawings, the seat-frame is provided adjacent the crank 41 with a bearing block 48 which is slotted to The operating member 49 is conveniently a flat strip of sheet-metal extending transversely of the seatframe and having itsrear end bent upwardly and formed into an eye embracing the intermediatev i portion of the crank 41. The front end of the Aoperating member may be slotted as at 50 for the reception of a guide-pin 5| in the front longitudinal member 20 of the seat-frame. A fingerpiece 52 is secured to and depends from the operating member 49 to provide an abutment which can be engaged by the ngers of the operator to move the operating `member 49 forwardly, and

thus to rock the rod 45 and lift the links 32.

. In Fig. 5, the operating member 49 and the rod 45 are shown lin the positions they occupy when the cranks 46 are depressed to permit the links 32 to drop under the influence of gravity. This position of the cranks 46 is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 and in full-lines in Fig. 3. When it is desired to lift the links 32, the finger piece 52 is grasped and moved forwardly thus rocking the rod 45 in a clockwise direction (Figs. 1,12, 3, and 5). Such movement of the rod 45 causes the free ends of the cranks 46 to enga-ge the links 32 and to lift them until the shoulder 36 is raised clear of engagement with the pin 34. This permits the seat-frame to beswung downwardly from the full-line positions illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 to the dotted-line positions illustrated in those v gures.

for the rod 45 has a certain degree of. snapaction. As is clear from Fig. 5, the crank 41 can not swing from its normal position illus- -trated in full-lines to the position of release illustrated in dotted-lines without raising the rear end of the operating member 49. By making the operating member of resilient material, it will have a tendency to retain the crank 41 in either When the structure described is to be used as I a davenport', the parts occupy the positions illustrated in Fig. 1. 4The back-frame and the rear side of the'seat-frame are supported by the links 40 and 4|, while the front edge of the seat-frame rests upon and receives support from the upper edge of the front longitudinal member of the davenport base. upon the links 32 maintains them in such a position that the pin .34 is engaged by the shoulder 36, thus holding the back-frame and seat-frame in definite angular relationship. The back-frame can not be tilted rearwardly without causing the seat-frame to tilt upwardly; and, as the force of gravity has a much longer lever arm on the seatfram'e than'it has on the back-frame, the structure is stable.

When it isdesired to convert the davenport illustrated in Fig. 1 into a bed, the front edge of the seat is grasped and raised. Because of the action'of the links 32 in maintaining the back- ',I'he force of gravity acting frame and seat-frame in xed angular relationship, the two frames swing as a unit through a path determined by the links 40 land 4|. As previously stated, the'links 40 and 4| are so arranged that the lower end of the back-frame is carried forwardly as the back-frame is lowered, and continued elevation ofy the front edge of the seat therefore eventually results in bringing the back-frame and seat-frame to the respective positions illustrated in'full-lines in Fig. 2, the cross members 29 of the back-frame resting upon the rear longitudinal member I2 of the davenportbase. This movement of the back-frame and seat-frame exposes the interior of the box formed by the members I2, and I3 to permit the withdrawal of the bedding normally stored therein.

After the contents of the box have been removed, if desired, the finger piece 52 is grasped and drawn forwardlythusA raising the links 32 and causing the' shoulders 36 to pass out of engagement with the pins 34. When this occurs, the seat-frame can be lowered to the dottedllne position illustrated in Fig. 2, where its upper face is substantially co-planar With that of the back of the davenport. In this position, the seat- It is to be noted that as the vseat-frame is swung downwardly from the full-line position to the dotted-line position lshown in Fig. 2 and also in.Fig. 3 the links 32 are swung in a vcounterclockwise direction relative to the seat-frame as the result of the engagement of the pin 34 with the lower side of the slot 33. Because of the engagement between the links 32 and the free ends of the cranks 46, this movement of the links rocks the rod 45 in a counterclockwise direction in the seat-frame fand restores it and the operating member 49 .to the full-line position illustrated in Fig. 5, so that'when the front edge of the seat frame is again lifted the links 32 will drop under the inuence of gravity to permit the pins 34 to engage behind the shoulder 36..

has occurred, downward and forward pressure.

After this on the front edge of the seat-frame will return ends of the seat-frame and back-frame.

1 necting said back-frame and seat-frame, means guiding said back-frame for movement' between a generally vertical position at the rear of said base and a horizontal position, a link pivotally connected to said seat-frame near the rear thereof, a pair of spaced abutments on said link, an abutment on said back-frame normally receivable between the pair of abutments on said link to hold the seat-frame yand back-frame in predetermined angular relationship, and means carried by said seat-frame for controlling said link, said means including an operating member normally positioned to permit engagement of the ink-abutments with the abutment on said backframe, said operating member beingmovable from its normal position to swing said link to dissociate the abutments thereon from the abutment on the back-frame and thereby to permit the back-frame and seat-frame to be swung into substantially co-planar relationship, and cooperating provisions on said link and back-frame for restoring .saidoperating member to its normal position as said back-frame .and seat-frame are swung into co-planar relationship.

2. A bed clavenport, comprising a base, a backframe, a seat-frame, means pivotally interconnecting said back-frame and seat-frame, means guiding said back-frame for movement between y a generally vertical position at the rear of said base and a horizontal position, releasable means for maintaining said seat-frame and back-frame in predetermined angular relationship, said releasable means including an operating member carried by said seat-frame and manually movable-from a normal position to release said releasable means, and interengaging provisions on said back-frame and releasable means for restoring said operating member to normal positionas the back-frame and seat-frame are moved toward co-planar relationship.

3. A bed davenport, comprising a base, a backframe, a seat-frame, means pivotallyinterconnecting said back-frame and seat-frame, means guiding said-back-frame for movement between a generally vertical position at the rear of said base and a horizontal position, releasable means for maintaining said seat-frame and back-frame in predetermined angular relationship, said releasable means including an operating member manually movable from a normal position to release said releasable means, provisions for restoring said operating member to normal position as the back-frame and seat-frame are moved toward co-planar relationship, and means for yieldingly Vopposing movement of said operating member from its normal position and also from its position of release. l

4. A bed davenport, comprising a base, a backframe, a seat-frame, means pivotally interconnecting said back-frame and seat-frame, means guiding said back-frame for movement between a generally vertical position at the rear of said base and a horizontal position, releasable means for maintaining said seat-frame and back-frame in predetermined angularl relationship, said releasable means including' an operating member manually movable from a normal position to release saidl releasable .means, and means for yieldingly opposing movement of said operating member from its normal position and also from its position of release.

WILLIAM E. WUNDERLICH. 

